Report: Marseille priced out of Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham move

Add as preferred source on Google

Olivier Ntcham’s price is reportedly too much for Marseille to continue their interest in him.

The Frenchman has been the subject of interest from the Ligue 1 side (Daily Record). But last week, reported figures had Celtic valuing Ntcham at between €15m and €17m (France Football).

And, according to French outlet sport.fr, they believe that the price Celtic want for their man is too much for Marseille to reach. The source claims that this is mainly down to Financial Fair Play regulations. They gave their verdict in two words – “it’s over”.

There have yet to be any further developments involving any interest from Porto. They’ve also been consistently linked with Ntcham stretching back to last summer (Scottish Sun). But as of yet, Celtic still don’t appear to have had their valuation for the Frenchman met.

A new aggression from the Hoops?

There seems to be a real authoritative nature to Celtic these days when it comes to prices for their players. The club doesn’t seem to fear interest in their top stars anymore. Instead, they’re happy to start charging the going rate for top young talent like they have.

Moussa Dembele, of course, was sold for £19.7m last season (BBC). Kieran Tierney, meanwhile, was reportedly being valued at around £26m by the club too (Mundo Deportivo). No longer do Celtic appear willing to accept anything less than top dollar, which is terrific to see.

As for Ntcham himself, it will be interesting to see what he makes of the interest. He’s struggled for form over the last year, and failed to live up the promise he showed during his first campaign in Glasgow.

It doesn’t seem as though he’ll be going back home to France as it stands, but interest in a talent as good as him can always occur quickly.

If he doesn’t go anywhere, then that’s another plus too. He remains a top talent with plenty to offer, and Neil Lennon has to give it a go to try and get the best out of him.

In any case, the move to Marseille looks to have died down for now.